In October 2008 – just after the Beijing Olympic Games – I spend some days in the Chinese capital together with my Chinese wife and my two sons. A main center of attraction was the Olympic Park: a vast space with incredible samples of state-of-the-art architecture, all open to the public. One day I took a long, long walk all the way from the „Birdsnest“ in the Olympic Park southwards to Tiananmen Square. One weekend we visited the Old Summer Palace which is my favourite spot in Beijing. Another day we went around Qianhai lake – one of the Chishahai lakes in the center of town watchingold Beijing men playing cards, catching fish and swimming illegally. Automobile traffic had increased; there were hardly andy bicycles on the road. The town and it‘s atmosphere had changed significantly compared with 1991, but in the more quiet places you could still feel the old Beijing.
Here is a selection of digital photos from that stay …
